Firstly I wish to thank Jill Burkinshaw of Joffe Books for inviting me on this Blog Tour for MURDER IN THE MEADOW (DI Hillary Greene) by Faith Martin

BOOK DESCRIPTION

Looking for a brilliant best-selling murder mystery with a feisty female detective?

Meet DI HILLARY GREENE, a policewoman struggling to save her career and catch criminals.

Wayne Sutton is found dead by a stream in a beautiful meadow. His head has been bashed in and a red paper heart left on his body. The handsome young artist had a reputation as a ladies’ man.

DI Hillary Greene discovers that there were many wealthy married women buying his paintings and taking ‘private’ art lesson from him. It appears that several of them might have wanted him dead.

Hillary also has a new detective sergeant, Gemma Fordham. Seemingly efficient and pleasant, she harbours a secret agenda.

Can Hillary get to the bottom of a complex case involving jealousy, love, and cold-blooded murder?

This is a crime mystery full of well-observed characters, which will have you gripped from start to finish.

MURDER IN THE MEADOW is the seventh in a series of page-turning crime thrillers set in Oxfordshire. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Colin Dexter, or Ruth Rendell.

THE LOCATION The pretty iron stone village of Deddington. Not far from the market town of Banbury (noted for its famous Banbury Cross of the nursery rhyme “Ride a cock horse to Banbury Cross, to see a fine lady upon a white horse, with rings on her fingers and bells on her toes, she shall have music wherever she goes.”) It has an attractive and unusual church, antique shop and hotel, and several pubs known locally for their cuisine. Although not a tourist spot as such, it is a picturesque spot. Water meadows, such as the one where the body is found, are a feature of valleys in the area, and regularly flood in the winter time, adding nutrients to the soil, making them especially lovely in the spring and summer, when they can flower quite spectacularly.THE DETECTIVES DI Hillary Greene An attractive woman in her forties, Hillary Greene is a police officer of many years’ experience, and came up through the ranks. Consequently, she knows how the system works, and is fiercely loyal to the force without being blinkered to its faults. She is a long-standing friend of her immediate superior officer, ‘Mellow’ Mallow and enjoys a rather enigmatic relationship with the steely Superintendent Marcus Donleavy. Popular with the rank and file for her no-nonsense attitude and competence. DCI Philip ‘Mellow’ Mallow Mel appreciates Hillary’s first-rate ability to solve her cases, and isn’t happy about her harassment by the officers from York. Known for his sartorial elegance and laid-back manners, he has a sharp mind, and an eye for the ladies. A good friend and ally for Hillary in her recent tribulations, he’s determined to keep his best investigator focused on the problems at hand.

PLEASE NOTE THIS IS A REVISED EDITION OF A BOOK FIRST PUBLISHED AS “BESIDE A NARROW STREAM.”

HERE ARE MY THOUGHTS AND REVIEW

What a heart pounding opening. Two young lads out on the river bank to catch tiddlers for an afternoons entertainment when one spots a man laid in the grass. When they call he doesn’t stir and when they go to him he is dead with a red paper heart on his chest. I did feel for the lads as they decided who should go for help and who was brave enough to stay. It is quite a touching scene. All quite surreal in the beautiful meadow and gentle water flowing near by.

Now this is my first encounter with DI Hillary Greene as I am new to this series and this is already book 7 I felt that I really slotted into it easy and I wasn’t the only new comer. DS Gemma Fordham is also a new arrival and like me is keen to find out the story of the dead man. Now you know when you meet someone you just have that feeling that something just doesn’t hang right well DI Hillary Greene hadn’t got to her rank without being a good judge of character and there was something definitely in the air. The snippets of the past, from previous books, were a real bonus.

There was no denying that the victim would have been quite a catch, when he was alive, he had been a rather handsome bloke, so was the red heart an indication of the spurned lover? Only time would tell. Wayne Sutton was a local artist who regularly visited his more affluent clients to give private art lessons and sell on his unusual pictures that he had created. Unfortunately he made as many enemies as admires which doesn’t help in the investigation.

I just loved DI Hillary Greene’s no-nonsense attitude, she is straight talking and expects the same from the people that she works with. That is what makes her so approachable with the most difficult of subjects at times. The thing is I wouldn’t want to come down on the wrong side of her and lets just say the clock is ticking………..

This has certainly been my kind of read. A very entertaining murder mystery, with an extremely likable DI and the promise of a bubbling and festering secret that will erupt spectacularly probably in the next book.

HERE IS A LITTLE ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Faith Martin has been writing for over 25 years, in four genres and under four different pen names. She was born in Oxford and sets most of her crime novels within sight of the city of dreaming spires. A real nature lover and afficionado of the countryside, descriptions of wildlife and native flora often find their way into her manuscripts. Right now, JOFFE BOOKS are re-issuing the first eleven of the DI Hillary Greene novels in new updated editions! And the first of these, MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL. MURDER AT THE UNIVERSITY, MURDER OF THE BRIDE, MURDER IN THE VILLAGE, MURDER IN THE FAMILY and MURDER AT HOME are available now. Books 8-11 coming soon!

Her romance novels, written under the name of Maxine Barry, are now available from Corazon Books. IMPOSTERS In PARADISE, and HEART OF FIRE are both out, and others will very quickly become available in the future.

Her first foray into writing ‘spooky’ crime, (and written under the pen name of Jessie Daniels) comes out in November 2017. THE LAVENDER LADY CASEFILE is published by Robert Hale, an imprint of Crowood Press.

As Joyce Cato, she writes more classically-inspired ‘proper’ whodunits. So if you like an amateur sleuth, plenty of clues and red herrings, plus a baffling murder mystery to solve, these are the books for you.

DI HILLARY GREENE SERIES BOOK 1: MURDER ON THE OXFORD CANAL
BOOK 2: MURDER AT THE UNIVERSITY
BOOK 3: MURDER OF THE BRIDE
BOOK 4: MURDER IN THE VILLAGE
BOOK 5: MURDER IN THE FAMILY
BOOK 6: MURDER AT HOME
BOOK 7: MURDER IN THE MEADOW
Books 8-11 coming soon!

I’ve read them all so far and love them. We chat from time to time, as we write in the same genre, although mine are more like her Joyce Cato books. All of the Hilary books start with “Murder” and so do mine! Of course we like each other’s books!